Four Poems by Joe Kidd

 

Dream Of Kings

 

the arrival at last in a night of illumination
awake, alive to practice a part
yes and sleep, that demon possessor of innocent peace
elusive sweetness of a busy heart
your refusal of friendship or high communication
was the torch left burning before the throne

so we left in the morning as the dew disappeared
the soles of our shoes anticipating the heat
in search of a word imprinted and formed
on the lips of a shade who could answer in earnest
a question thus asked by the forgotten courageous
who now stop like a clock at the 3 and the 9

we were sent here to pray a prayer of thanksgiving
for the gift of the air and the water within us
for the sound of a voice vibrating through us
as we break through a new shell and helplessly fall
the time is now come, to accept our commission
a miraculous day of nutrition and song

who could it have been in yesterday’s mirror
to cast such a reflection so brilliant and clear
who gave up again, the same secret denied
by the echoes of sorrow, of laughter and pride
was it truly the king as the procession began
or the dream of a jewel in an unbearable crown
now in dutiful submission a feast is prepared
one glance at the heavens, one downward cast eye
god save us, sustain us, the truth is a lie

 

Night Falls Upon The Silent And The Still

 

Night falls upon the silent and the still

Without consent, without forewarning

A descent of shadows behind imagined monoliths

Not floating, swimming, below a surface bubbling

Destiny fulfilled by the captured beasts among us

To consecrate a chalice, warm and sweet

 

Let us inhabit this final evening

A moment transcending the affairs to follow

In a spirit that holds no debt to the past

Or a future unconscious, invisibly draped

 

Alone, we break free from the chains of the flesh

No eyes to see, no fingers to touch

The hope that was promised by the cloth

We shall not clutch this fabric in the dark

 

Upright and strong we will stand until

There is nothing left beneath our feet

'cept the hollow shells ground into sand

Beyond the light of these ritual remains

 

October Rose

 

In the night while recalling the October Rose

Upon My Knees, I entered a room

To touch the thorn from which it flowered

Two eyes now shut to view this face

A glorious body now consumed

 

I set aside my recollection

To anoint with chrism these memories

The endeavour to hire the arsonist

To set ablaze this mortal temple

No more to pray or meditate

Nor visit a possibility

 

God given humanity now at work

Has chosen between two parallels

Mercy and Justice the extremes

Which do we claim from this day forward?

 

I allow the creator to look upon my efforts

As the landscape burns beyond my gaze

Paralyzed, and speaking not

The transfer of love's telepathy

With that, redemption makes way at last

 

A suffering, endless in its wake

A silence, where sweet music once played

And yet the Rose bloomed in October

Seen clearly from the highest peak

And on that summit the seed is planted

The ending that all must seek

 

And yet the Rose bloomed in October

A final kiss upon the cheek

 

Solstice Part One

 

I was just watching the moon float past
I didn’t think you would even notice
from the distance where you set your foot
upon a satin covered stool.

There has never been a darker sky
to engulf an astronomer such as I
nor a brilliance flashing in the eye
of a soul so lost and vagrant.

No cloud dare to obscure the path
of this parade of dancing sorrows
these decanters empty, a dry platoon
of unsecured tomorrows.

I now look down to find the spinning earth
hidden beneath a grain of sand
how warm it once felt, as I recall
rotating in my hand.

Tonight I dive deep into eternal solace
at the center and the edge
of a universe that does not exist
beyond a heart’s command.

 

Joe Kidd is a working, poet/songwriter/artist.  In 2020, published The Invisible Waterhole, a collection of spiritual and sensual verse.  Awarded by the Michigan Governor's Office and the United States House of Representatives.  Joe is the current Beat Poet Laureate State of Michigan, and Official Poet of the Government of Birland North Africa.  An ordained minister, he holds an Honorary Doctorate from International Union Peace Federation.  He has toured Europe, North America, & Caribbean Islands, featured in international anthologies, magazines, websites, festivals, and other personal appearances.  Joe is a member of National & International Beat Poet Foundation, Michigan Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame.

Author Page:  https://www.amazon.com/Joe-Kidd/e/B089QYDXSM

Face Book Page:  https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100063704010587